Posts Tagged ‘jordan williams’

July 2, 2012 · 5:43 PM ET

HANG TIME CAPITAL BUREAU — The Brooklyn Nets are “very close” to acquiring six-time All-Star guard Joe Johnson from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for guards Jordan Farmar, Anthony Morrow and DeShawn Stevenson and centers Jordan Williams and Johan Petro, as well as a protected first-round pick that came from Houston, according to a league source.

The deal, the source said, would be completed whether or not Brooklyn is able to convince free agent guard Deron Williams to re-sign with the team. Williams is entertaining an offer from the Dallas Mavericks as well.

Brooklyn, however, is hopeful that Williams will want to stay after the addition of Johnson, whom the Nets coveted before he became a free agent in 2010. The deal also allows the Nets to keep promising guard MarShon Brooks, who played well for the team last season as a rookie and would help comprise a strong three-guard rotation with Williams and Johnson.

The trade would dramatically change the look of the Hawks’ roster and eliminate Brooklyn from being able to make a potential deal for Magic center Dwight Howard, who wants to go there. The Nets would be taking on the final four years and $89.2 million of Johnson’s contract, after agreeing over the weekend to a new four-year, $40 million deal with forward Gerald Wallace.